The Green Geek

Making the power grid smarter

A new initiative sponsored by the US Department of Energy called GridWise, is designed to modernize the power grid by installing telecommunication, sensor, and computer technology into the existing power infrastructure. Over 200 homes across Washington State have been equipped with networked water heaters and thermostats that monitor the electrical grid for local demand, and can cycle the heaters on or off depending on the current cost of electricity. Energy prices are loads are checked every 5 minutes, and adjust the user’s heating appliances according to comfort levels, energy savings, or a combination of these options.

This is a new way of measuring and metering power consumption, most areas use a flat rate per kilowatt-hour used, resulting in much higher prices during peak hours of the day than other times. Having a system that adjusts depending on power prices will save money, and allow for more efficient power usage.
The second application of the GridWise program uses sensors in high power appliances to measure power consumption, to allow the power utility to better regulate power distribution. When the chip in the appliance detects a drop in grid frequency, indicating higher than usual loading, the appliance will cycle off the heating element in the dryer until the grid stabilizes again. By shutting off the heating element, the device stops drawing power from the grid. With networked GridWise appliances in homes, the impacts from fluctuations in grid power would be reduced, resulting in fewer brownouts and electrical surges. Widespread application of this technology would help prevent large scale blackouts from occurring again, such as the one that affected millions of people in the northeast USA and Canada in summer of 2003.
Making The Power Grid Smarter – Technology Review